


absolute radiance

by someones_user_name



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Gen, Heavy Angst, I'm Bad At Tagging, My First Fanfic, Sad Ending, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22383259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someones_user_name/pseuds/someones_user_name
Summary: the radiance stood there, looking out at hallownest from it's crownit is a beauty, and she will cherish it for as long as she exists. but first she has to rid herself of the tiny knight that seeks to destroy her.how does she do that?by doing the thing she is oh so good at, infecting themand it works perfectly
Comments: 8
Kudos: 36





	1. nothing..

**Author's Note:**

> every chapter I will list a word count goal that I had for the chapter and they might change due to me experimenting with chapter lengths, I do this for two reasons, one being that you can see how long the chapter will be along with me wanting to find a good chapter length (as said before).  
> Ok now that this is out of the way the story can begin! (also good luck to me as this is my first story i’ve taken seriously)

-Ghosts POV-  
You were walking down the caverns of the forgotten crossroads when you glanced at your map, scanning it for a bench that you could rest at. When you found it you rolled up your map and shoved it into the void hidden beneath your blue cloak and set course to your destination 

You reached the bench quickly as it was near your previous location and sat down on it. It wasn’t the most comfortable as it was metal but it would do. You pulled out your map and thought about where you would explore tomorrow but after a while of silent arguing with yourself, you decided to settle the dispute later. You put the map away and soon after that sleep fell over you like a blanket.

It was dark you saw nothing, you heard nothing, and you couldn’t move it was like someone turned off all your senses. But then you heard humming, the humming sounded familiar but you couldn’t remember whos it was.  
There was also the sound of a pick hitting rocks, it was only now you remembered who it was.

It was Myla, a miner you visited every now and then.

In the blink of an eye, you found yourself a few feet behind Myla, you were in her mining area which was just a bug-made tunnel which origins are from a pit nearby.

But something was wrong.

There was no humming.  
She always hummed.

You approached Myla.  
Every step you took your fear doubled. When you were in arms reach you held your arm out and touched her. In an instant, she spun around and swung her pickaxe at you. Due to the surprise of her hostility, you didn’t dodge the attack, inviting the pickaxe to freely put a scratch on your mask. You stumbled back but steadied yourself for the next attack and when the attack came you dashed backwards dodging the blow. While you were dashing you also unsheathed your nail and readied it for a counter-attack. You looked at Myla, she looked the same except her eyes had an orange glow illuminating inside them.

An orange glow.

You even did a double-take to make sure you saw this right but there was no denying it.

She was infected.

You refocused your thoughts on the fight. Myla, no it was preparing another strike so you rose your nail and parried the blow after the parry you saw a perfect chance to hit myla but you hesitated.

I don’t want to hurt Myla.  
is she even myla anymore?

But unfortunately that hesitation was enough for it to swing their pickaxe at you, the pickaxe dug into your mask and you fell on the floor in pain. As your body hit the ground you dropped your nail and used your now free hands to try and unlodge the pickaxe that was stuck in the center of the mask between your eyes. But every time you even slightly touched the pick an unbearable spike of pain would pile on top of your already great amount of pain. 

You tried again and again but the pain made you let go every time. The void leaking out of the wound was piling up on the ground next to you. It put its hand on the pick to try and pull the pick out making you silently scream and cry from the pain and after what seemed hours she finally got it out but to your dismay, this only made the pain worse and now instead of leaking the void poured out of the wound. You couldn’t do anything, even moving your arms was a challenge you struggled with. You lay there silently screaming as your vision blurred and got dimer, whispers also filled your head but you couldn’t make out what they said. The last thing you saw before your vision was reduced to nothing was the orange glow in its no, her eyes.

You wanted to tell her that you’re sorry.  
You wanted to tell her it’s not her fault.  
You wanted to comfort her.  
But not even that you could do.  
You couldn’t do anything.  
Nothing.  
Nothing..  
Nothing…

You jumped up, drawing your nail and scanning your surroundings only to find that you were at the bench you slept at. You sheathed your nail and tried to calm down which you failed at.

Was that a dream?

Your experience with dreams were little as you never dreamed and you thought it was a thing you couldn’t do but this new found evidence made you think otherwise.

It had to be.

You sat back on the bench and realized you were shaking you tried to calm down again but to no one’s surprise, it didn’t work. You thought back to the dream. what if Myla was in trouble? You shivered at the thought. I have to check on her. So you got up and started walking towards Myla’s mining area. 

When you got close you started the tink of a miner mining away and thankfully you also heard humming along with it. You walked to the source of the sound and there Myla was mining away with her miner’s helmet with a lumafly lamp strapped on it and a heavily used pick in her hand. You stood there for a while listening to the music before walking up to her, oh how you needed this music right now. When you got close enough for her to hear your footsteps she stopped mining and turned around.  
“O-oh your back!” she said with a smile on.  
but the smile faded a bit.

“A-are y-you okay?”

You gave her a puzzled look.

“Y-your s-shaking”   
the smile was gone now replaced with a look of worry.

You looked down at your hands and they were as Myla said, shaking. As you tried hiding this you looked back at Myla and you nodded.

“I-i know s-something is wrong”  
She put down her pickaxe and walked up to you.

You shook your head and tried to put on the most convincing look you could muster, you didn’t know how she could understand what you were expressing as the only thing that could hint at it was your eyes and even those seemed empty at all times. But despite this, Mya somehow saw your expression and didn’t buy it but dropped it anyway.

“O-okay but if want t-to tell m-me something i-im r-right here.”

Myla bent down and hugged you which took you by surprise but you embraced it anyway. Every part of you focused on this moment as all your worries melted away. It felt like an hour passed when Myla let go, you wanted it to go on forever but you didn’t protest when she pulled away.

“I-ill go back t-to mining b-but if you w-want to stay i-i won’t m-mind.”

She walked back to the wall she was mining, picked up her pick and resumed mining as well humming. You sat down and stayed for a while enjoying her presence but you realized you had things to do so you got up and walked away.

-Myla’s POV-  
You were mining as usual and humming the same songs.

Maybe I should sing something else?

you disregarded the thought because this was the only song you could hum the entire thi-  
your thoughts were interrupted by the small pat of footsteps. you turned around to see your little friend staring back at you. 

“O-oh your back!”

you smiled, you always have enjoyed the little one’s company. After all, they were the only company you have had in months. You were also happy they were there as well because you finally remembered the final verse in the song you always hum, you knew that they would like the news because they always seemed to like your song. You studied them closer, and they seemed scared like they had seen a murder. So scared in fact that they were shaking. As soon as you noticed this your heart dropped, has something happened?

“A-are y-you okay?” you said with worry

They looked back and tilted their head a little

“Y-your s-shaking” you pointed out   
They looked at their hands only now realizing they were shaking. how had they not known this?  
They put their hands behind their back and looked back at you and nodded but their eyes said the complete opposite, it was like he wanted to say “help me”. It was an understatement to say you were worried.

“I-i know s-something is wrong” 

you put down your pickaxe and walked up to them. they must have realized their eyes were betraying them because they tried looking happy, they tried. There was no point in proding him anymore about so you dropped it but tried to encourage them to tell you.

“O-okay but if want t-to tell m-me something i-im r-right here.”

You bent down to hug them.

even if they aren’t going to tell me I’m still going to at least try and help.

It seemed to work because the shaking stopped and they returned the hug, it was so nice you had to hold back tears. You noticed something weird though when you hugged the little one a bittersweet smell could be smelt faintly. But you ignored it, it was probably the air of the caverns. After a bit she let go of them, they looked disappointed but they didn’t protest.

“I-ill go back t-to mining b-but if you w-want to stay i-i won’t m-mind.”

You went back and picked up your pickaxe and started mining and humming. 

You were still worried about them.  
You hope they are okay.


	2. so sweet..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know, another chapter already?
> 
> the reason for the short time span between releases are i already have the entire story written but i just need to proof read and then publish them. which don't take too long.
> 
> but as always i hope you enjoy and if you find any noteworthy errors please tell me.
> 
> (word count goal: 2,000)  
> (actual word count: 3,080)

\--Ghosts POV--  
You approached the city of tears and entered a door and pulled out your map, if your map was correct there was a bench nearby with a nice view of the city. You put your map away and kept going.

When you got there you saw Quirrel sitting on the bench looking out at the city. You walk up next to him and he seems to notice you but makes no move to greet you.

“The capital lies before us my friend. What a sombre place it seems and one that holds the answers to many a mystery.”

He now turns his face to meet yours.

“I too have felt the pull of this place, though now I sit before it I find myself hesitant to descend.”  
“Is it fear I wonder, or something else that holds me back?”

He pauses, seeing if you have anything to say and when you say nothing he resumes

“The city looks to be built into an enormous cavern, and the rain pours down from cracks in the stone above.”  
“There must be a lot of water up there somewhere. I suppose, if the cave roof stayed strong this long, it should hold for us.”  
“The rain seems to come down endlessly, though. I'd like to see where it all comes from before I leave this Kingdom. What a sight it must be!”

Quirrel looks back at the glass.

“If you look down from here, through the rain, you can just make out those twisted sentries, their husks still stuck in endless patrol.”  
“I'd be cautious around them my short friend. Their training will not have been forgotten. This city presents some formidable foes, though I suspect they will be nothing but an annoyance to you.”  
“You look confused, do you think i haven't seen your nail expertise?” he pauses but shortly resumes.  
“I can only wonder what those cursed husks think now, or if they can even think for the matter”

You look through the glass at the city, even in its disrepair, it is still a sight to see. You couldn’t believe you had walked through here before and not noticed its beauty.

“Isn't this a wonderful spot for a rest? I so love the sound of the rain upon glass, though getting wet is another matter”  
Quirrel looked at you  
“speaking of rest you look pretty beat down, you should get some”

You mutely agreed as you sat down on the bench, even though it was hard metal it still felt amazing after the trek you just took. You felt the creep of exhaustion flow through you as you fell asleep.

=================================

You were sitting at the blue lake, Quirrel sitting next to you

“Again we meet my short friend. Here at last, I feel at peace.”

Quirrel was right, it was peaceful, there was no noise besides Quirrel’s breathing along with your barely audible breathing.

something was wrong.

You smelled something sweet, so sweet it was bitter, your mind fogged up with whispers making thinking hard and your body moved without you telling it to. You unsheathed your nail and looked at Quirrel, he looked at you, his eyes full with worry.

“Are you okay?”

You rose your nail ready to strike.

“Ghost?”

Your nail swung. He raised his arms to protect himself and your nail slashed his arms. Even though you weren’t getting hit you still felt the pain.

“Ghost!” 

He tumbled back and unsheathed his nail as you swung again, making a gash along his chest. Quirrel looked at you with such worry that made you feel such pain he might as well stabbed you. You swung again but this time Quirrel blocked it. After the block, Quirrel scrambled up on his feet and readied himself for the next attack and you gladly delivered as your nail met Quirrel’s and you swung again.  
and again..  
And again...  
And again

Quirrel couldn’t keep up with all the blow as he kept losing ground.

“Ghost stop!”

You wanted to do this but you couldn’t. The smell of infection was so intoxicating you almost were carried away by it.

Almost?

Your nail came down again as Quirrel blocked it. You wanted Quirrel to fight back but he wouldn’t. Your nail hit Quirrel’s again but Quirrel lost his grip and his nail clattered on the ground. Quirrel knew that retrieving it would lead to his death so he raised his hands and surrendered. You doubled your efforts to fight the unbearable urge to kill him but just as you thought you had it the infection began to take over again, though this time it didn't stop at control of your body it dove into your mind and stripped away memories, feelings, and replaced them with its own twisted blissful version.

“Ghost, I know you’re still in there.” he said, a weak smile on his face.

Who is Ghost?

You rose your nail…

Quirrel closed his eyes, knowing what would happen.

And you swung.

Ah, the smell is so sweet.

\--Quirrel’s POV--  
You sat there staring out at the city

Ah, how beautiful it is, though the blasted rain annoys me more than the infection that ravenges this kingdom does.

You could stay here forever but you knew you had to get going soon. Then you heard the faint patter of footsteps. It got closer and closer and then Ghost came into view which made you smile, you always liked having Ghost around even in his silent state he seemed to talk with you. You also could tell what he was feeling, how? You didn’t know. somehow those seemingly empty eyes showed emotion.

“The capital lies before us my friend. What a sombre place it seems and one that holds the answers to many a mystery.”

You turned to face Ghost.

“I too have felt the pull of this place, though now I sit before it I find myself hesitant to descend.”  
“Is it fear I wonder, or something else that holds me back?”

You stopped talking to try and read Ghost’s emotions and when you fail you resume

“The city looks to be built into an enormous cavern, and the rain pours down from cracks in the stone above.”  
“There must be a lot of water up there somewhere. I suppose, if the cave roof stayed strong this long, it should hold for us.”  
“The rain seems to come down endlessly, though. I'd like to see where it all comes from before I leave this Kingdom. What a sight it must be!”

You looked back at the breathtakingly large city.

“If you look down from here, through the rain, you can just make out those twisted sentries, their husks still stuck in endless patrol.”  
“I'd be cautious around them my short friend. Their training will not have been forgotten. This city presents some formidable foes, though I suspect they will be nothing but an annoyance to you.”  
“You look confused, do you think i haven't seen your nail expertise?” you pause but shortly resume.  
“I can only wonder what those cursed husks think now, or if they can even think for the matter” 

Ghost still stood there and he seemed tired so you brought up the subject of rest so he would sit down and rest.

“Isn't this a wonderful spot for a rest? I so love the sound of the rain upon glass, though getting wet is another matter”  
You looked Ghost in the eyes.  
“speaking of rest you look pretty beat down, you should get some rest.”

And as you hoped he sat down on the bench. After a few minutes, he slumped down and from what you gathered that meant he was asleep, though it creeped you out that he slept with his eyes open. And just like always that one thought formed into another and soon you were wondering yet again, about what ghost was. 

You looked at him while he slept and you slide over next to him and you studied his mask. If you looked closely you could see faint signs of scratches and other marks but from afar the mask looked in completely perfect condition, like a mask maker just finished the craft. You wondered if their were any mask makers left but you guessed not. You raised your hand and touched the mask, the mask felt like slightly rigid bone and it was a tiny bit cold to the touch. 

You shifted your attention to ghosts body, the part where you had absolutely no idea what was. The surface of it looked like some sort of dark liquid that reflected no light and it seemed like some black gas was coming of it. There was no way this was organic. You touched the black substance and your hand was repelled from how cold it was. The substance was so cold it burned and in the split second that you touched it you could feel the perfected smoothness of it. You felt like you knew what he was but everytime you were close to figuring it out the answer slipped away and you were sent back to square one.

You went back to the far side of the bench and forced the burning questions that you were so close to answering to the back of your head. You had the urge to leave but you wanted to try something different. You wanted to explore with ghost instead of going alone like you always do. You felt like you didn't spend enough time with ghost and who knows? He might show you something you didn't know existed.

===============================

You were looking out the window, staring at the building and listening to the rain make what sounded like a beat. You ripped your eyes away from the sight and took out your journal, you always had it on you so you can record your travels in it. The journal was a little crude as it was just a piece of leather that was strapped to many pages but you liked it anyway. You opened the journal to the page that had a map of hallownest in it, which was in the middle-ish of the book. The map was poorly scribbled on the page with lots of arrows pointing at interesting parts but you still could read it just fine, though you knew many bugs who couldn't.

You scribbled on some findings of today which wasn't much, only a bit of the fungal wastes and then the room you were in. you then turned to the first open page which was near the end due to all the other drawings you had made and then you started drawing the cirt in front of you. It took a while to draw it but you did it nonetheless. You admired the final piece, it was a little on the crude side but all in all the drawing looked nice and you were proud of it. You shut the journal and put it away in your bag. You stopped mid motion as you smelled something.

It smelled sweet, too sweet.

Infection.

You looked around for the source of the smell and your eyes landed on Ghost.

There was what looked like orange gas coming off him and his head was twitching, it was only slightly but it was very noticeable. You slowly got up and approached him and with every step the smell got more prominent and your mind fogged up from it. When you got close to him you could see an orange glow coming from his eyes.

“Ghost?”

You raised your hand to touch him but before you could he jerked up and put his hand on his nail, ready to draw it. You stumbled back but steadied yourself before you could fall. You looked at him it was very obvious he was scared, his twitching was replaced with shaking and the orange glow in his eyes dimmed to a point that you had to squint to see it and thankfully the smell was gone.

“Woah, my short friend calm down it's just me.”

His eyes settled on you and you could see his fear recede a bit but not much, his hand let go of his nail.

“Are you alright?”

Ghost weakly nodded, obviously lying.

“What happened?” you asked but immediately realized he couldn’t answer.

He turned away from you.

“Ghost?” 

You went up to Ghost and bent down so you could be mask to mask with him.

“Fine i'll give you peace but just know I’m here for you and you can tell me anything”

You looked into ghosts eyes which was hard because he tried avoiding eye contact and you saw no orange glow you also noticed black liquid coming from Ghost eyes, it was weird because you had never seen him cry or be sad for that matter until now. You couldn’t stop thinking about the orange glow, or the twitching, or the smell. 

Infection.  
Was he infected?  
No, he couldn’t be.  
Right?  
Is there any other explanation? 

You stood back up and when you did Ghost started leaving, now usually you would let him go by himself but because of the events that just transpired you wanted to go with him, so you did. You also thought about mentioning the orange glow you saw but you realized that he might not react well to the news.

He’s been through enough.  
Whatever that might be.

\--Ghost’s POV--  
You jolted up and readied yourself for a fight.

“Woah, my short friend calm down it's just me.”

You only now realized you were back at the bench with Quirrel.

Another dream.

You looked at Quirrel, the sight of him unharmed calmed you down a bit so you let go of your nail.

“Are you alright?”

You nodded despite everything that just happened.

If I did tell him how would he react?  
I don’t want to find out.

“What happened?” Quirrel asked

You felt a tear about to escape your eye so you turned away so Quirrel didn’t see it. 

“Ghost?”

He walked up to you and bent down so you were mask to mask with him, but you couldn’t look him in the eye.

“Fine i'll give you peace but just know I’m here for you and you can tell me anything” 

You couldn’t be around Quirrel anymore so when he got up you made for the exit. Unfortunately Quirrel followed, he wanted to tell him to go away but didn’t want to worry Quirrel anymore. You wandered around admiring the broken buildings till they encountered a bug. The bug was a guard, you knew this from the nail and armor they had but this worried you because quirrel said that they were trained in battle so this would be much harder than other bugs, though you have dealt with them before but what about Quirrel? Would he get hurt?

You unsheathed your nail and waited for them to charge. Though when they did attack they went for Quirrel but he was prepared for this and parried the attack, while Quirrel was the main focus of the bug you went behind him and swung your nail at him. The nail made a very wide gash on the bugs back and the bug collapsed from the wound but you didn’t stop as you swung again, this time at the head to make sure it was dead. After the nail hit the bugs head it stopped all movement, it was dead. Quirrel walked up to the bug, bent down and examined the corpse.

“To think this used to be someone, but now there is nothing but a body puppetired by the infection.”

Quirrel looked sad for reasons you didn’t know but you felt compelled to comfort him anyway so you walked up to him and gave him a tiny hug. But this only seemed to make him sadder which made you confused. You gave him a worried look hoping he would give you answers.

“Oh, I’m sorry it's jus-”  
“Nevermind”  
He got up and put on an emotionless expression and continued forward. 

========================

You wandered around the city which was peaceful except the few infected bugs that passed by every now and then. 

“We should go up on of these towers.”  
“I bet there would be a good view up there.”Quirrel suggested.

You thought about it and at first it seemed like a good idea but then you worried about how many guards would be in the towers, taking one or two at a time was easy but if there was more than that it became a challenge. You shook your head. Quirrel was confused by why but he knew that whatever the reason was, it was a good one. You both walked in silence for a while but then quirrel piped up.

“Your fighting skills are impressive, my friend. I haven’t seen anyone fight quite as you do, but the gods know I’m still better.” Quirrel teased.

You ignored the comment and pulled out your map looking for areas of interest and you saw a big elevator that goes up to a part of the resting grounds that you think Quirrel will like.

The blue lake.

“What are you looking at, my tiny friend?”

You showed him the map and pointed at the elevator.

“Ah, so we are leaving the city already?”  
Quirrel looked at the rest of the map and with every second he looked even more surprised

“You have explored much, this entire map is filled out!”  
“I didn’t take you as an explorer but this changes my mind”  
“Heh, last time I checked your map you only had a tiny bit of the forgotten crossroads filled out, and now only three days later you have explored every corner of hallownest”  
“I don't know how that is even possible, you would need impossible amounts of stamina to walk all this”  
“Ah, but you are a mystery that i dont think ill ever solve”  
“Anyways, do you mind me taking a look, little one?”

You shook your head and gave him the map and while he scanned the map looking at places of interest you took note of the places he took the most interest in. Quirrel seemed to take an interest in the abyss.

“The abyss is quite the name, it also seems to be the deepest part of hallownest.”

After what seemed like an hour he finally gave it back and we started going to the elevator


	3. wherever you travel, the pain travels with you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (word count goal: 2,500)  
> (actual word count: 3,048)

After a small trek, you reached the elevator and you were hasty to get to the blue lake so you could rest. When you and Quirrel got in the elevator you flipped the lever by hitting it with your nail and the elevator started moving.

“So short one, where are you taking me exactly?”

You pulled out your map and pointed at the blue lake.

“I see, I guess it would be nice to have a rest on a lake.”  
“Wait, is that the water source that rains onto the city of tears?” quirrel smiled.  
“Ive wanted to see that… is that why your taking me there?”

You nodded.

“Why..why thank you” 

Quirrel pulled out a journal of some sort and went to what was a seemly random page.

“Say, could I have that map again?”

You gave him a confused look.

“I would like to copy that map onto here so I can explore the greatness of hallownest later.”

You gave him your map even though you know you wouldn’t get it back anytime soon if you did. Quirrel took the map with gratitude and started writing.

“After this were are we going?”  
He looked up  
“Do you even know?”

You shook your head.

“Well, I guess we will go where the wind takes us.”

Quirrel resumed writing as you waited for the elevator to reach the top. After a few minutes, the elevator came to a stop, we were here. Quirrel stopped drawing and looked at his map.

“If we are traveling to the blue lake then we go… left!”

Quirrel puts away his journal and the map and started going that direction

==================

As you were nearing the blue lake you started hearing whispers but you couldnt make out what they said. You stopped and as soon Quirrel noticed that you stopped moving he stopped too.

“Is something wrong?”

You shook your head and started walking again. And soon you reached the blue lake and when you got there you sat on the edge of the water. Quirrel sat right next to you and he took out the journal and map and started drawing again you looked over at what he was doing. He had a map on one page, he was changing it to match yours and on the other page it seemed like writing but you didn’t know what they said. You looked away from Quirrel and looked at the lake.

“This truly is a peaceful place, isn’t it?”

You nodded. The whispers were still there but you had gotten used to it, you almost could hear what they said. You stopped thinking about it and just sat there and enjoyed the peace. After a while Quirrel stopped writing. 

“I’m done! Now that I have copied your map I’m going to rest, and I suggest the same for you.”

Quirrel gave your map back and you took it gladly, you laid down on the ground and tried to sleep.

You didn’t

\---Quirrel’s POV---

You woke up with a jolt as you heard something shuffling around and when you looked up you saw Ghost looking at his map. You stood up and looked over at Ghost.

“You’re up earlier than the earliest lumafly.”

Ghost jumped at the sound of your voice but calmed down quickly, his map was blocking your view of his face but his posture told you that he was weary.

“Did you sleep?”

Ghost made no move to answer the question.

“Ghost, the dead need to sleep and so do you”

He still didn’t move so you walked over to him and took the map out of his hands. It took a moment for ghost to realize you took his map but when he did he shot you a murdering look. ghost snatched his map out of your hands and stuffed it somewhere behind his cloak and he got up and started to leave but you stopped him.

“Little one, you need rest.”

He looked at you and shook his head, you saw a split second of sadness in his eyes.

_What happened in those dreams to scar him this much?_

Ghost started walking away again, you wanted to stay and enjoy the lake some more but your worry for Ghost overpowered that. When you caught up to him he stopped, pulled out his map and gave it to you.

“What do you want me to do with this?”

Ghost pointed at you and then pointed at the map.

“Do you want me to help you go somewhere?”

He shook his head.

“Do you want me to pick somewhere to go?”

He nodded so you started scanning the map and the crown of hollow nest caught your eyes, there must be an amazing view up there!

“What about the crown of hallownest?”

Ghost took the map to find the crown of hallownest and nodded. He put his map away and started to lead the way.

As you neared crystal peaks you started hearing something, you heard humming and the sound of pickaxe hitting rock accompanied it.

_Why was there humming?_

The humming worried you but it seemed to do the opposite for Ghost as even with that empty stare you saw happiness and he started walking with a pep in his step. Speaking of steps every one you took made the humming get just a bit louder, it also seemed ghost was going towards the humming. After a few moments, you went into a seemly bug made tunnel and saw someone, they were mining a wall that had some crystals in it and they were humming a tune while they did it. When you got close the bug seemed to hear you and turned around, they immediately recognized and smiled at Ghost when they saw him.

“Y-your back, s-so soon as w-well!”

They looked at you

“A-and you’ve brought s-someone with you.”

They put down their pickaxe and walked up to you.

“W-what’s your n-name?” she said with a tone that mixed formal and happiness together

“Oh I’m truly sorry, the name is Quirrel.”  
“And what would be yours?” you said, returning the friendly tone

“M-my n-name is Myla, i-its nice to meet y-you.” she said

“It seems you already know Ghost.” you said and gestured at ghost.

“W-who’s Ghos-” she said but realized who you were talking about.  
“You mean the little one?”

“You don't know his name?” you asked.

Myla tried to hide embarrassment but you could see right through it.

“H-he never s-said anything s-so I never a-asked” she said timidly.

“It’s fine, I understand.”  
“His lack of speech can be difficult to deal with at times.”

“T-thanks for understanding, a-and the answer t-to your question i-is yes.”  
“Every f-few days he c-comes a-and visits me.”  
“H-he always comes b-by and listens to my h-humming.”

You look over at Ghost.

“Well, the tiny one and I just came from the blue lake and were about to go through crystal peak and go to the crown of hallownest.”

“O-oh i know t-the blue lake, i-its very peaceful” she said.

“Ah, why yes it is, whenever i get the chance i will go back down there”  
“A bug like me needs peace once in a while”  
“Anyways, we should go” you said and looked at ghost

“O-oh, well I’m going t-to g-go bac-”

She looked at the crystals then back at you.

“C-can I come?”

You looked at ghost, looking for his agreement and he seemed to like the idea so you went with it.

“I dont see why you couldn’t.”

She smiled and gathered her stuff, though the only thing she had was a backpack which looked like it only had crystals in it and a pickaxe. When she was ready she ran up to you.

“L-lead the w-way!”

You looked at ghost and he pulled out the map. Myla went over to ghost and looked at the map as well.

“Y-you have explored a-all this?”

Ghost nodded and started walking toward crystal peak. You and myla followed.

“I-i can’t b-believe you were out t-there exploring h-hallownest while I w-was sitting down t-there doing nothing.”

You looked at Myla.

“Wait you just mined down there day after day?”

“Y-yeah.”

You looked at her with concern.

“For how long?”

Myla shrugged.

“I-i don’t k-know, I think m-months?”

“WHAT!”

Myla was taken aback by the outburst and took much longer to respond because of this, meanwhile ghost completely ignored what was happening.

“What’s wrong with that?”

You looked at her like she had two heads.

“You have been down there for months! and you don’t see anything wrong with it?!?”  
“You realize it isn’t safe down there right?”

Myla must have realized that being down mining for that long was a cause for worry because her face went from her usual smile to a worried one.

“M-maybe i s-should go up to the s-surface”

You were about to say something but then big crystals came into view and soon after that crystals started to take over the walls, some of the walls were nothing but crystals. Myla’s eyes widened but ghost didn’t even spare a glance.

“W-wow, why did I n-not mine up h-here?”

Soon after the crystals came into view you started hearing pickaxes hitting rocks.

“Seems that you weren’t the first one to think that.”

You continued forward until you saw two miners up ahead then you stopped and everyone else stopped along with you.

“W-why are we s-stopping?” Myla asked.

“Those miners up ahead are dangerous.”

“T-they are just m-miners, why w-would they hurt u-us?”

You looked at Myla.

“They are infected, why would they not?”

Myla looked confused.

“Please tell me you know about the infection.”

“I-i don’t”

Now even Ghost looked at Myla with worry.

“you’ve been down there for too long, long story short their minds have been corrupted and they want to kill us.”

Myla’s look of confusion was replaced with fear.

“S-so you're telling m-me that thos-” Myla was going to say something but trailed off and she never finished.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yes.”

“Stay back here, ok?”

She nodded so you looked at ghost seeing if he was ready. He was. You and ghost walked over to the two miners and when you got there attention you unsheathed your nail.  
\---Myla’s POV---  
You sat next to a wall, waiting for them to come back.

_What if they don’t?  
What if they got hurt?_

You figited at the wall and with every second you got more worried that one of them would get hurt. You couldnt stay still anymore so you got up and looked around the corner and you saw quirrel and ghost fighting the miners, one was fighting quirrel and the other was fighting Ghost. You looked at Ghost, he was handling the miner well but quirrel on the other hand wasn’t doing well, quirrel was barely blocking the miner’s attacks and he was losing ground.

_I have to help._

The miner that was attacking quirrel backs was toward you so you went up to him, rose you pickaxe and brought it down on the miner. The pickaxe embedded into the bugs head and the bug fell to the ground, motionless. Quirrel looked up at you, his face was mixed with feelings of relief, anger, and worry.

“Did i not tell you to stay back!”

You ignored him and looked at the bug you just killed, your pick still in their head.

_I just killed them.  
I.. killed.. Them..  
I’m sorry..  
I’m sorry...  
I’m… sorry…_  
You wanted to throw up, you just killed someone! The world around you seemed to slow as you focused on the body.

_The bug you just killed_

You heard quirrel say something but you didn’t care. The bug’s head was facing you and you swear you could see the pain in its eyes.

_You could feel its pain_

_I’m sorry  
I’m sorry  
I’m sorry_

You stepped back.

_I’m sorry  
I’m sorry  
I’m sorry_

You took another step back, another, another, and another until you were full out sprinting in the other direction

_I’m sorry  
I’m sorry  
I’m sorry_

The crystal covered walls sped past you as you ran.

_I’m sorry  
I’m sorry  
I’m sorry_

You didn’t know where you were going but you couldn’t be there.

_I’m sorry  
I’m sorry  
I’m sorry_

You sprinted past more miners and one of them swung their pick at you but missed.

_I’m sorry  
I’m sorry  
I’m sorry_

Your body was heavily protesting your running but you kept going.

_I’m sorry  
I’m sorry  
I’m sorry_

You saw more miners so you started sprinting in the other direction but tripped and you were met with black.

_I’m sorry_  
\---Quirrel’s POV---  
These miners are quite strong.

The miner in front of you was unleashing a flurry of blows which seemed to have no end. You were barely keeping up with the blows and you knew you had to knock them back if you wanted to leave this fight uninjured, but you couldn’t find an opening to do this. You were about to call for help when he abruptly stopped. The miner fell to the ground dead in front of you and Myla was standing there. You were thankful for the assistance but you also had told her to stay back. She was lucky that she hadn’t gotten injured. At this point, Ghost had killed the other miner and was coming over here to see what happened.

“Did I not tell you to stay back!” you said with quite a sharp tone.

You looked at her and she was paying you no attention and her eyes were looking at the ground. At first you were confused at what she was looking at but then you saw the body on the ground.

“Myla?”

She started to take steps back.

“Myla!”

She started running and you were the first to start chasing after her, though Ghost wasn’t far behind. You tried following her but she ran through a few miners and they didn’t want you or ghost to pass. Ghost went forward and got both of the miner’s attention so you could continue the chase, which is exactly what you did. You lost some ground due to the miners and now you were quite farther from Myla but you still chased after her. Every now and then you had to jump over big crystals or have to strafe to avoid them but yet you still chased.

Your body was yelling at you to stop the entire time but you didn’t, but you didn’t have to run for much longer because Myla was about to run into miners but stopped herself and started running in the other direction but unfortunately she tripped and seemly got knocked out. Now this situation was pretty bad because you had two miners going for Myla and you had to protect her yet a few minutes earlier you were having trouble with one miner.

_But you had to protect her_

You went up and swung and hit one miner but the other miner was still heading for Myla so you went and hit the other one too. Though as you did this the other miner hit you in the back making a huge spike of pain go up your back, you stepped back from both the miners to not get hit again and you swung at one of them. As your nail collied with one of the miner’s carapace the other used this opportunity to get a hit in as he swung his pickaxe and that pickaxe hit your arm that was holding your nail, making you drop your nail. This already bad situation has gotten even worse as now you couldn’t even protect yourself

_At least Myla wasn’t hurt.._

__

__

_Yet_

The miner that had gotten hit decided to get their revenge as he swung their pickaxe at you, making a gash on your chest. The other bug swung their pickaxe, even though you dodged it you still got hit as the other miner swung after the dodge. Another cut was made because of this and this time it was on your leg, more pain was added to the already great pile that you had. The pain was too much and you fell to the ground. This was great for the miners as now they could hit you even more and as one of the miners rose their pickaxe you closed your eyes and waited for the strike.

_But it never came_

When you reopened your eyes you saw one of the miners with a nail stuck in their head, you realized that the nail belonged to Ghost as he came up and reclaimed the nail sticking out of the bugs head. The other miner was already about to strike ghost but when they went to swing a nail was placed in their chest, all of this was done in what seemed a second. Ghost let his nail slide out of the miner’s chest as he dropped to the floor and when he did ghost sheathed his nail and helped you up.

“That was undoubtedly the best fighting I’ve ever seen.”  
“But you have a ways to go before you can beat me” you quipped

He rolled his eyes despite having none as he went to go help Myla. You had to get to a bench as the place you were at was not safe and because Myla was unconscious you had to carry her to the bench which unfortunately was a long walk. You found it funny despite all you have been through you and Myla were still alive.

_What luck that ghost had gotten there._

When you got to the bench you literally collapsed from exhaustion, which was helped by the many wounds you had. You shakily got off the ground and dropped on the bench. While ghost looked at Myla you dug into your bag for cloth bandages and when you found them you hastily applied them. Though it seems you didn’t pack enough cloth bandages to cover all the wounds you had gotten but thankfully you covered enough to not die from blood loss. When you used your last cloth bandage you felt light-headed and your view faded away as you fell unconscious.


	4. ignorance is bliss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just started working in a new story and im about three chapters in. this new story will have some OCs in it so i might release an OC list soon.
> 
> and as always, i hope you enjoy the reading
> 
> (word count goal: 3,000)  
> (actual word count: 4,188)

\------Ghost’s POV------  
Myla was on the floor and thankfully you saw no wounds on her so you looked at quirrel to signal him that she’s ok but he was on the bench with his eyes closed. You saw that he had many wounds so you went up to him and examined them, he put makeshift bandages on most the wounds but the wounds on his leg and arm were still exposed. You looked around and spotted Quirrel’s bag on the ground, you went up to the bag and looked inside it. There was some water and Quirrel’s journal but besides that, there wasn’t anything that could be useful. You also saw Myla’s backpack which was still on her. You took the backpack off her and opened it, when you did you saw a bunch of crystals so you moved them out of the way and saw a scrap of cloth though it seemed like it was covering something. When you took the cloth off you saw a picture of Myla and what seemed like six other miners, they were all smiling and posing for the picture but all the miners besides Myla had an X over their head.

Did Myla have friends?  
And why were they Xed out?

You left the picture where it was and put the backpack on the ground. You walked over to quirrel and ripped the scrap of cloth in half, you used one half to cover up the gash on his arm and the other for his leg. After you were done you backed up and looked at quirrel, he didn’t look good but he wouldn’t die and that was enough for you. You sat on the bench, right next to quirrel and you sat there waiting for someone to wake up. After a while you found yourself drifting off but caught yourself before you fell asleep. You got up and started to walk around so you don’t fall asleep.

You started to smell something sweet with silent whispers coming with it and your exhaustion doubled. Your exhaustion made it so you couldn’t even stand, making you fall to your knees and to make matters worse the sweet smell was so strong you could barely even breath and whispers filled your head.

Join us  
The light awaits  
Your friends are waiting  
Let us take your troubles away  
We can help  
We can give a purpose  
We won't use you like a tool like the king did  
Come with us  
Let the light take you  
We can give you anything  
We can give you a voice.  
Come with us  
Join us..  
**Join us**  
You sat there unmoving and with every second it got harder to breathe. You were suffocating. You wanted to scream at quirrel or Myla for them to help you

But you couldn’t

Then all of a sudden you took in a lungful of air

The sweet sweet air

Your mind melted away as you looked at Myla. You got up and walked up to her.

I could take away all her worries, why wouldn’t I?

You unsheathed your nail and rose it.

She couldn’t stop me, no one can.

You saw Myla slowly open her eyes and look at you.

“G-ghost?” she said wearily

You snapped back into reality and you realized what you were doing, Myla realized it too and when she did she picked up a nearby pickaxe and got ready to block the blow.

But it never came

You threw your nail to the side and backed up to the wall where you collapsed from exhaustion and Myla was still on the ground with a face of confusion on. After a while, Myla got off the ground and she made her way over to you. When she got close to you she stopped, you could tell she was still ready for you to attack her as the pickaxe she was holding was being gripped tightly and it was in a position if you did swing she could get in a blocking position before the attack landed.

“Y-your i-infe-fec-fec-” she choked on her words, but you didn’t need her to finish to know what she said so you nodded. When she noticed she froze and you saw tears form in her eyes but they never fell.

“N-no”  
“N-no”  
“Y-your l-lying” she said but struggled while doing it.

She ran to the bench and sat there muttering something over and over. You still were in the corner sitting down when you fell asleep.

I’m sorry.

\----Quirrel’s POV----  
You woke up in pain which isn’t a surprise considering the injuries you suffered yesterday and when you looked around you saw Myla on the bench next to you whispering something with a panicked expression on. You got up off the bench and Myla saw that you were awake.

“Myla is something wrong?” you asked.

She looked at you and you saw that she was close to tears.

“G-ghost i-is in-” she seemed like she realized something.  
“N-nothing.” she said as she put on a quite convincing smile, but you knew that smile was fake as she was almost in tears a second ago.

“Myla if it’s about yesterday tha-”

“Y-yes! I-i mean y-yes its about y-yesterday.”

You were taken aback by her strange behavior but shook it off.

It’s probably the shock of yesterday.

“Are you ok?”  
“Can you keep it together or do we need to go bac-”

“N-no!” she half yelled.  
“I’m f-fine, r-really”

“Ok” you said even though you knew she was lying. 

You looked around the room again and saw ghost against the wall, he seemed to be sleeping which made you happy but also worried you at the same time. You walked over to him and nothing seemed to be wrong, no smell, no twitching, and no glow. You wanted to let him sleep because he didn’t sleep yesterday and he probably needs it but at the same time you REALLY wanted to get out of crystal peaks so you shook him. He woke up with a jolt but besides that nothing worrying happened.

“Ghost we should go.”

Ghost looked back at you with confusion.

“I’m worried about dear Myla.”

Ghost seemed to understand and got up. He went up to you and started to inspect your wounds.

“I didn’t cover some of th-”

You looked down and saw that your arm and leg were covered with teared cloth that was now half soaked with your blood.

“Did you patch me up while I was sleeping?”

He nodded.

“Ghost I hope you know didn’t need it”  
“also where did you get said bandages?”

He pointed over at Myla’s backpack which she was digging into to find something and after a bit she pulled out a bit of paper with what looked like a picture on it and drew something on it.

“I’ll tell Myla we are going”

You walked over to Myla and when she noticed she put the picture away.

“We are going to go soon so pack up”

She nodded and zipped her backpack up then she got up and started following you. You walked over to ghost and he started leading the way.

============

After a while ghost went to an elevator that was on the side of a cliff, when you looked off the cliff you saw dirtmouth in the distance which was a sight for sore eyes. When everyone was on the elevator ghost pulled the lever and it started going down. 

“I t-though we were going to t-the crown” Myla said

“We were worried about you so we went back.” you told her and she gave you an angry look but she didn’t say anything about it.

As the elevator reached the ground you walked to dirtmouth.  
As you walked into dirtmouth and a very old bug came over and greeted you.

“Ah, more come back from the underground and from the look of it you should stay up here for a while” the old bug said.

“Why is this?” you asked him.

“Well, look at yourself!”  
“Those wounds look bad and the bandages aren’t helping much”  
“The little one looks tired”  
“And to add to the pile, the miner looks shaken up.”

You realized he did have a point.

“Well I guess we can stay up here till I’m in a state to explore in”

The old bug looked happy but also disappointed.

“That is good but, I don’t see why you have to go back.”  
“Staying up here is the better option if you like living, going down there is a good way to die or worse.”

Ghost walked past the old bug and went towards an empty-looking house, you were going to follow but the old bug stopped you.

“If you’re going to stay up here than I might as well tell you my name, well not a name but a nickname of sorts.”  
“You can call me elderbug.”  
“And I see you are friends with the little one, he is quite the nice one, yes?”  
“His silence is made up for his kindness”

Elderbug pulled out a fragile flower from his pocket.

“As you can see he gave me this rare tiny flower for a reason that I don’t know, but what I know is if he didn’t come back up after going down at least one person would mourn his disappearance”

Elderbug put the flower away.

“Sadly I sense that going down there will be his doom if he doesn’t stop.”  
“I’ve told him many times to stop but he doesn’t, I wonder what draws him down there?”

Elderbug looked at you.

“I’m sorry I’ve been ranting haven’t I? There aren’t many people to talk to so I tend to rant a bit when I can”  
“You two go join him in, just please if you can, convince him to stay up here”  
“You would make an old friend of his happy” 

“Oh please, there is no need to be sorry, it has truly been a pleasure listening to you” you ensured him.  
“And I will try to talk him out of it”

Elderbug smiled and you started to walk towards the house.  
\----Ghosts POV----  
The house wasn’t in bad condition and it seems it can hold three bugs, but one of the bugs won’t have a bed but a couch instead. Besides the lack of furniture the house was perfect, it had two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a big living room. After you assigned rooms quirrel and Myla arrived at the house, it seemed like elderbug had ranted again. 

You showed quirrel his room which was an average-sized room with a regular bed, nightstand, a desk with nothing on it, and a bookcase full of books. While Myla had a smaller room that had a regular bed, window facing the crystal peaks, a drawer, and a closet. You had the couch in the living room which had a large layout of, couch in the middle of the room facing an empty wall but little tables on both ends of the couch and the living room was connected to every room with the front door in it but besides that it was empty. 

The kitchen has a counter in the middle and alining the walls are things like the stove, sink, fridge, and more empty counters. The house was small but it would do. You gave everyone the tour of the house and when everyone knew the house layout everyone went to their rooms and slept. You went over to your couch and laid own on it, you fell asleep for a while but images of you killing Myla made it impossible to continue sleeping.

I won’t hurt Myla.  
I will not hurt myla.  
Nothing can make me.  
Nothing.  
Nothing.  
right?

after what seemed like forever you saw the sun come up and you also heard myla moving in her room so you got up. You went over to myla’s room and opened the door. You saw myla with the picture from her backpack in her hands, her room was already decorated with crystals of different shapes and sizes all over the furniture. Besides the crystals, the room was bare. She looked up when she heard the door open and started putting the picture away but you went over to her and took it out of her hands, she looked annoyed by it but made no move to get it back.

“I-its just me and s-some o-of my friends” she said

You looked at the picture, its been changed from last time you've seen it. The picture now has a picture of you and quirrel on there, you have an orange glow in your eyes but you're not Xed out while quirrel looked normal. You pointed at the miners and gave her a puzzled look.

“I-it shows my friends posing for a picture..”  
“They are all dead now..”

She looked at you.  
“But don't feel s-sorry, all of this h-happened a v-very long t-time a-ago and i-ive gotten over i-it”  
“But i-i carry t-this picture s-so i never f-forget them”

You gave her the picture back and sat on the bed next to her.

“Y-you took the cloth c-covering it to c-cover quirrel’s wounds d-didn’t you?” she said.

You nodded.

“D-does quirrel know a-about you b-being i-in-inf- , y-you know” she said with pain in her voice.

You shook your head.

“W-well, I-im n-not telling h-him”  
“H-how would he r-react?”

“How would whom react?”

You and myla looked at the door and saw quirrel standing there, he was looking at you with a puzzled expression.

“U-uhh, n-nothing!” myla said with obvious tension in her voice.  
“W-we were talking about e-elderbug and telling him t-that we are going back down!” myla quickly lied.

Quirrel ate the lie and continued talking.

“Well i'm going to stay up here with elderbug and i strongly suggest you both do too” quirrel said.  
“And ive been meaning to ask you ghost, why do you go down there so often?”  
“You have explored everything and yet you still go down there.”

You pointed at myla and quirrel.

“You go down there to see us?” quirrel guessed.

You nodded and myla seemed flattered.

“Y-you go down there for u-us?” myla said surprised.

“Ghost as i said, you should stop for a while because those caves seem to be affecting you.” quirrel said.

You were ok with it as long as quirrel also didn’t go down there and you tried to make this clear by pointing at the well and back at quirrel, and somehow he understood it while myla was totally lost.

“I won’t go down there for a while then.”  
“Well i’ll leave you guys to talk, and im going to get some food as my rations are gone”

Quirrel left the room and myla got up when he did.

“I-im going to g-go around and m-meet p-people”  
“I-if you want to c-come i w-wouldnt m-mind”

You were still tired and you needed to try to get more sleep so you shook your head but before you could finish the motion she was gone and out the door. When you realized she was gone you went over to the couch and tried sleeping again. Thankfully after a few minutes you drifted off into the void of sleep.

-

You woke up and you were still on the couch, you tried to go back to sleep but it wouldn't take you this time so after an hour or so you gave up all hope of sleeping and got off the couch. When you got up you started to smell the familiar sickenly sweet smell of the infection and your legs refused to carry your weight anymore as you fell back on the couch. For a while you lay there on the couch, barely breathing when the front door opened and quirrel walked in with a bag in his hands.

“Ghost i’ve brought some food for you”

He looked around and saw you on the couch and went over to you, he placed the bag next to the couch then he looked at you.

“Ghost?”

Your body willed itself up and you faced quirrel and quirrels eyes widened. You drew your nail as he did the same but unlike quirrel you swung. The nail was deflected with ease but you just kept swinging. Though quirrel was blocking every strike you unleashed and this continued until myla walked in and saw what was happening. When she walked in quirrel yelled for her to stay back but in doing that he gave you an opening to slide your nail into his chest. And you did. The nail slid in with no resistance and came out the other end with blood, quirrel looked down at his chest and saw the nail. His entire body relaxed and he dropped his nail, a little blood was running down from his mouth, which was smiling. 

“You still aren’t better than me at fighting” he weakly teased as his face became slack and his eyes became empty.

You let the body slide off your nail and onto the ground with a thump. You looked at myla and her eyes were fixed on the body you just made and as you approached her she made no move to run away or fight back. You wasted no time as you rose your nail and struck her making a cut starting from her lower chest and going up onto her face, her entire lower body was slick with blood within seconds. She fell to her knees but wasn’t dead so you jabbed your nail into her head. Her face became blank as her body became limp. When you were sure she was dead you removed your nail from the bugs head and you pointed the nail tip at your head. You looked back at the bodys. They sat there motionless and myla’s head was facing you with a blank stare but you thought you saw sadness in those eyes. You looked back your nail And you violently pulled the nail into your head and you were met with nothing but void.

-

You woke up with a shock and you saw quirrel was in front of you.

“Another nightmare?”

You lied and shook your head

“Well, i got some food for you” quirrel said and pointed to bag left next to the couch.  
“Sadly the only person selling food made the price higher than the sun so i have no left over geo but i take it you have some?”

Last time you counted you had 83589 geo so you were pretty sure you had enough geo to cover it so you gave quirrel 1000 geo for the food. When you pulled out the geo quirrel looked surprised.

“If you think sly priced that much food at that much geo your insane, actually you just paid for all the food I bought and one more week of it”

Quirrel only took 100 geo and left the rest but you got up and put the rest back in his hand.

“I might as well be robbing you, i'm not taking all your geo”

After a few minutes of passing the geo back and forth, quirrel finally gave up and took the geo.

“Fine if you insist but im giving half of this to myla as well”

You were fine with this so you sat back on the couch and tried to go back to sleep which after an hour finally happened as you felt the blanket of sleep fall over you.

\----Quirrel’s POV----  
You were walking back from sly’s shop a few hundred geo lighter than you should be and you saw myla talking with elderbug, it seemed they were talking about ghost. You walked over to her and gave her some of the food you bought.

“Here is some food” you said with some sourness in your voice caused by the lack of geo in your bag.

Elderbug looked at you and began chuckling.

“I see you have gotten robbed by sly” he said with a smile on his face.

“I have never wanted to punch a bug more.” you replied.

“I can't tell you how many times ive felt the same way” he agreed  
“But don't worry, if you need food and don't want to go over to sly just come to me as ive recently made a garden and I am willing to sell the food”

“I'll keep it in mind then, well, im going to give some of this to ghost”  
“But then i'm going down the well to get something”

Elderbug’s smile faded a bit at that but said nothing.

“Also ive convinced ghost to stay up here for a while” you said hoping it would lift his spirits which it did as his smile returned but with twice the intensity.

“Well, i owe you many thanks then” he said with gratitude.  
“Also i never caught your name”

“Oh im sorry, the name is quirrel” you told him.

“Well, luck to you when you go down” he said and then went back to talking to myla.

You walked to the house and when you entered you saw ghost on the couch, sleeping. You walked up to him and placed the bag of food next to the couch but when you were about to leave ghost jolted up. You looked at him to try and determine his feelings but you couldn't tell so you asked him if he had a nightmare.

“Another nightmare?”

Ghost shook his head

“Well, i got some food for you” you said and pointed at the bag you just set down  
“Sadly the only person selling food made the price higher than the sun so i have no left over geo but i take it you have some?”

Ghost put his hand behind his cloak and pulled out big chunks of geo, and you estimated the chunks were worth at least 1000 geo. You put on a shocked face by how much geo he was giving you.

“If you think sly priced that much food at that much geo your insane, actually you just paid for all the food I bought and one more week of it”

You didn't want to take too much so you just took one chuck and started to leave. But ghost got up and put the rest back in your hands.

“I might as well be robbing you, i'm not taking all your geo” you said, hoping he would take his geo back but he didnt.

Instead he kept giving the geo back to you when you refused it. After a while you gave in, he wasn't going to give up any time soon.

“Fine if you insist but im giving half of this to myla as well” you said.

Ghost nodded his head and went back to the couch. You walked out the door and went over to myla, who was still talking to elderbug. When you got close myla looked at you then at the geo you were holding. Elderbug looked surprised.

“Where did you get that fortune of geo at?!?” he asked.

“It seems ghost has a huge supply of geo in his pockets” you answered back.

You put half of the geo in mylas hands and gave some to elderbug as well.

“W-what is t-this for?” myla said with her eyes fixed on the geo.

“I told ghost I would give some to you because I didn't want it” you said.

“Well, tell him thank you for me.” elderbug said as he took the geo you offered him.

“M-me t-too!” myla quickly said.

You put the rest of the geo in your bag and started to go towards the well. When you got there you descended carefully by using the chain and set off for greenpath.


	5. absolute radiance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING  
> this chapter has character death and suicide in it!  
> if you don't want to see such things please click away.
> 
> also i got a little carried away while making this chapter so it is pretty long, sorry if you don't like that.
> 
> (word count goal: 4,200)  
> (actual word count: 8,844)

\-----Ghost’s POV-----  
You woke up to being shaken by an unknown source but when you looked up you saw who was doing it, Myla.

“Y-you can’t s-sleep all day” she said as she continued shaking you.

You got up and pushed her back so she would stop. When she did, you looked around for quirrel but saw no one besides Myla. 

“D-do you know w-what quirrel w-was getting?” Myla asked you.

You had no idea what she was talking about so you gave her a confused look.

“Do y-you know why quirrel is l-leaving?” she elaborated.

Your confusion doubled.

“D-do you e-even know quirrel i-is leaving?” 

You shook your head.

“Y-yeah quirrel gave me g-geo and h-he said he w-was getting s-something then he w-went down the w-well”

You silently cursed Quirrels name as he promised to stay up here. You opened the door and was going to start running to the well but Myla stopped you.

“W-where are you g-going?” 

You pointed at the well.

“Y-you should s-stay up h-here, you h-haven’t had a…” she pondered how to put it nicely.  
“ a… i-infection attack f-for a w-while”  
“Y-you might b-be getting b-better!” Myla said excitedly, though you thought you heard some doubt in the sentence

She pushed you back and closed the door behind her as she stepped towards you.

“I-its fine q-quirrel is going to come b-back, he c-can take care of h-himself” myla said.

You weren't worried for his safety it just made you angry that he made a promise and broke this promise in only one day and you wanted to make this clear to her but didnt know how. After a while of silence you went over to mylas bag and got the picture of the miners out. You pointed at the drawing of you then pointed at the ground, myla seemed to understand this. Then you pointed at quirrel and pointed at the ground, myla didn't understand at first but after a while she looked like she remembered something.

“H-he promised you h-he would stay u-up here if you did t-too” myla said

You nodded.

“E-even if he did break t-this promise i don't suggest you g-go down there, how would you know where h-he even i-is?” myla asked.

You realized that you had no idea where is was going but this didn’t deter you from your goal as you went for the door again, this time faster so myla couldnt intervene but when you put your hand on the door knob she said something.

“D-don’t go down! I-i don't want t-to risk you g-getting hurt.” she said, desperate to change your mind.

But before you could think about it you where already out the door running towards the well.

If he doesn’t keep his promise I won’t keep mine

“Don’t tell me you’re going back down there!” elderbug yelled as you passed by.  
“You’re going to get yourself hurt one day!”

You ignored the comment and continued your sprint. When you got to the well you jumped down it and landed with a crack as the floor was assaulted with the force of your landing, you dont know how but you in no way hurt even though you just dropped a length that could kill a normal bug. but you gave no thoughts about it as you pulled out the map and looked for places quirrel would go. After a while of scanning the map, you began having interest in the abyss.

He could be at the abyss.  
He seemed to love that spot.

When you identified the fastest route to the abyss and you started going that direction. 

\------------------

When you got to the abyss you looked down the ledge you where at and saw nothing but darkness. You looked at your map to see if you were in the right spot. You were. You looked back up and scanned the area around you and saw a rock to jump to. When you landed on the rock you saw another, and another. As you continued jumping from rock to rock the void in the air around you grew and breathing became harder, despite the unpleasant conditions you felt like you were at home. 

You stopped for a second and took a deep breath of void, it was hard to take the breath but you liked the smell of it even though the void had no smell. You almost got lost in it but you snapped back into reality and resumed your descent. After a bit you saw the bottom which was made of masks of other vessels, different but also very similar to yours. You would stop and think about your dead siblings but you carried on as you jumped down onto the masks. 

Some of the masks broke when you landed making a crunch that you felt spread through your entire body. You shook the feeling away and continued forward while you walked you saw some shades looking at you but they collapsed into a ball and fell into the pile of masks when you came near them. This disappointed you every time because you wanted to talk to one of your siblings or even just feel the presence of them next to you but everytime they disappeared, you put the thought in the back of your mind and continued forth. After a while the lighthouse came into view and the sea of void came with it. When you got closer you made out a figure standing next to the sea.

Quirrel

You started walking his direction but the crunch of the masks giving way beneath you alerted quirrel to your presence and he turned around with his nail out and he rose it yet you kept walking towards him. when you got close he realized it was you and sheathed his nail.

“I told you to stay up there” he said but not in a tone of anger

You pointed at him then you pointed up, hoping he would understand and somehow he did.

“Oh yes, I forgot about the promise” he said in an empty tone.  
“But you still shouldn't have came down”  
“Also, sorry about me raising my nail i thought you were one of… the shadows”

He sat on the shore of the sea of void but he was careful to not touch the void itself.

“It is weird, this place. It’s like i know this place but I haven't seen anything like this” he said in a tone you couldn't place.  
“I don't know what this place is and i feel a longing to know, but I just can't solve it.” he paused but resumed shortly after it.  
“This place makes me remember something though”  
“Void i remember it, the substance that I used to work on, but what I was working towards.. Another gap of lost memory resides there”  
“It now feels like i've known this substance for a long time, but I didn't.”  
“It is like this for most things in my life though, its like someone removed memories they didn't like” he paused again.  
“The masks staring back with empty glares and then the shadows in the dark watching everything I do, it's all unsettling” he looked back at you after saying this.  
“And to think that all of them are like you, or that's what it looks like anyway”  
“Are they like you?” he paused and studys you and after a bit he seems to find his answer.  
“What even are you?” he studies you again but unlike last time, he doesn't find his answer  
“Do you not want to tell me? Do you even know?” after he said this, he shook his head.  
“I'm sorry i shouldn't be asking such questions. It's just you are such a mystery to me and I can't help but be curious.”  
“But I must ask, will you ever answer?” he said and you hesitated in answering but you eventually nodded your head.  
“Well, i'll be patient then.”  
“Anyways, you should go back up, dont worry ill follow” he said and waited.

After you made sure he had nothing else to say you left him with his questions. After a long climb back up you pulled out your map. You looked at some place you could go to so you could clear your mind as now you had such a heartache over the sorrow and fate of your siblings, despite you having no heart. You considered going to a hot spring but then your eyes were caught by the blue lake.

Perfect.

You put your map away and started off to the blue lake.

\-------------

The elevator came to a stop as it reached its destination so you stepped off the elevator and started walking to the left. With every step you took you were reminded of your weariness more and more but soon you reached the blue lake. You sat down on the shore of the blue lake and immediately you felt the tug of sleep tugging at you but you didn't give in to it. The silence reminded you of the abyss and this made you feel worse than you already were but you tried to not think about it. After an hour of just sitting there and letting your mind drift free you got up to leave as you smelt it, the sweet smell you know all too well.

No, not again.  
I will not fall.

The potent smell got even worse and worse and you couldn't think as whispers filed your head, stronger than ever before. Your hands went up to your head as you hands covered your eyes as you collapsed back on the ground. 

Your friends are calling  
Give in to the warm sensation  
we can give you a voice  
we can help you forget your past  
We will embrace you  
We will love you  
We will care for you  
Help us tear down the pale kings name  
Help us get revenge for your siblings  
Help the hollow knight  
Embrace the light  
Embrace the warmth  
Embrace us

You felt warmth climb up your spine and spread throughout your body

It felt nice  
You wanted more..

You stopped fighting and the warmth became a burning sensation.

Wise choice..

You did nothing as you felt the radiance take control of you and a blinding light filled your head.

You are an interesting one..  
Others regretted their decision and tried to fight us, but you..  
You give in fully  
I like you  
You shall be rewarded

The burning faded till it was nothing but a nice warmth and the light disappeared. You tried moving your body and to your surprise your body listened. You got up and looked around, everything was normal except the warmth in your chest. You smiled.

You felt nothing but radiance  
Absolute radiance  
\-----Quirrel’s POV-----  
The trip to greenpath and back wasn't hard or slow, the only thing that was a danger were the most creeps which you could kill with one absent minded swipe. When you got back to the well you put your backpack down and looked at how many lifeblood bottles you had. You had three. When you were sure that was enough and you wouldn't need anymore you put the bag back on and started ascending the chain. When you got halfway you stopped. 

Anywhere else i could go while i'm down here?

You went back down the chain and took your map out. Your eyes stared at the page with such intensity it might start a fire, but before that could happen your eyes spotted the abyss.

Ah, ive wanted to go down there for some time now.  
Now is as good as ever.

The trip would be long and tiring but according to the map you had copied there was a sea you could sit next to and rest. Your eyes were ripped from the abyss and they searched for a fast way to get your destination, which took time as there were many ways to get there but you found it nonetheless. After wondering if it was a good route you decided you would take the elevator from the forgotten crossroads to the city of tears then there would be a pit from said city to the ancient basin then it would be straight forward from there. You put away your map and started traveling the tiring journey.

\-------------

Every step you took it felt more and more like your feet were made of lead but before it became unbearable you found yourself in front of the door leading to the abyss. You entered the door only to find yourself on an edge and like the map predicted there was a large drop to the bottom which you couldn't see because inky darkness blocked your view. You liked living so instead of randomly jumping off you carefully jumped from the edge you where on to a rock you spotted and then to another. you continued doing this till you noticed the air around you getting darker and it got harder to breath in.

Strange.

You continued descending and it got darker as you did. After a while you saw the ground, it seemed to be made out of something small and pale they also had two holes put equidistant from the center and two horns sticking out of the object.

Masks.

Not just any masks.

Vessel masks.

You stood on the rock and tried to figure out why the ground was covered in masks but it never came. A pang of sadness hit your heart as you realized the mind boggling amount of masks that were here.

Each one a different life.

You jumped down on the masks and one cracked underneath you as you landed. You looked at the broken mask.

It looked like ghost.

You looked around and you realized that even though they were all different, they all at the same time had an uncanny similarity to ghost. You pushed the thought away and kept going. The eerie silence unnerved you and it didn't help every three steps you took one mask was crushed under your foot and you said a quick and silent sorry every time you did. You couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching you so every minute you looked around you to check that no one was. You heard something behind you move so you spun around with your nail out and saw a shadow like figure staring back at you with white eyes. You expected it to charge and attack you but it never moved and after a while it condensed into a ball and fell into the floor of masks.

When it disappeared you slowly continued forward and saw more of them but one by one they did the same thing as the last one. After a bit of cautiously walking what looked like a lighthouse came into view and the sea drew on the map came with it. You walked up to the shore and looked into the sea. You stood there for a while but heard a noise and you spun around to meet its source. When you did you saw a figure in the distance coming towards you but you couldn't make out the details of them due to the consuming darkness around you. You rose your nail hoping it would stop but it never did. When it got close the darkness parted enough so you could see the white of a mask on the figures head and you realized it was ghost. You put your nail away and fought the urge to scream at him for scaring you like that.

“I told you to stay up there” you told him.

He pointed at you then he pointed up, you were confused by what he was trying to say but then your mind slapped you with the memory of you promising to stay up there with ghost.

“Oh yes, I forgot about the promise” you said.  
“But you still shouldn't have came down”  
“Also, sorry about me raising my nail i thought you were one of… the shadows”

He stood next to you, staring at you as you sat down next to the sea of void.  
“It is weird, this place. It's like i know this place but I haven't seen anything like this” you said.  
“I don't know what this place is and i feel a longing to know, but i just can't solve it.” you paused but resumed shortly after it.  
“This place makes me remember something though”  
“Void i remember it, the substance that I used to work on, but what I was working towards.. Another gap of lost memory resided there”  
“It now feels like i've known this substance for a long time, but I didn't.”  
“It is like this for most things in my life though, its like someone removed memories they didn't like” you paused again.  
“The masks staring back with empty glares and then the shadows in the dark watching everything I do, it's all unsettling” he looked back at you after saying this.  
“And to think that all of them are like you, or that's what it looks like anyway”  
“Are they like you?” you paused to study him and you see a yes in his eyes.  
“What even are you?” you study him again but unlike last time ghost shows no emotion to the question.  
“Do you not want to tell me? Do you even know?” after you said this you shook your head.  
“I'm sorry i shouldn't be asking such questions. It's just you are such a mystery to me and I can't help but be curious.”  
“But i must ask, will you ever answer?” you said and after a while ghost nodded, which made you happy.  
“Well, i'll be patient then.”  
“Anyways, you should go back up, dont worry ill follow” you said and waited.

He stood there a while longer but left you with your thoughts. You looked out into the sea again and cleared your thoughts. After a while you got up and turned back to go back up. You hastily ran back to the ledges and sprung from one to the other hoping not to run into and of the shadows on the way out and thankfully you saw none of them. When you got to the door again you stopped to sit down and rest for the journey back up.

When you reached the well you were daydreaming of sleeping as after making the most tiring journey in your life two times in a row took all the energy out of you plus some more. You climbed the rope and when you were half way up you almost fell back down because your body decided to lock up and refuse to move for a bit. But thankfully your body started to listen to your commands after a while and when it did you got up before it could happen again. You reached the top and simply fell to the ground and stayed there as your body wouldn't let you move again. you stayed like that until myla came over and helped you up.

“A-are you ok?” she asked with worry coating each word she said.

“Yes, just tired from the journey I made.” you said even though your tongue felt like it was replaced with metal.

“I-i don't want t-to worry you b-but g-ghost went down the well l-looking for you” myla said with somehow even more worry which made you annoyed that she cared more for ghost then for you but you hid these feelings.

“Yeah, and he found me”  
“Has he not returned yet?” you ask.

“Y-yes” myla answered.

“While this is odd, this isn't a cause for worry.”  
“he must be exploring or something, let's just wait a while longer before we start worrying” you said hoping myla would stop her worrying but your comment had not effect.

“O-ok” myla said as she helped you up.

Myla took one of your arms and wrapped it around her neck and she started walking towards the house but when she got close elderbug came over and saw what was happening.

“What happened, are you injured?” elderbug asked with his words coming out like lightning.

“No, i'm just tired” you said for the second time in a matter of a minute.

“Yeah, dead tired”  
“This is why I don't want other going down there” elderbug said with his words tasting like lemons.

Elderbug’s eyes shot around as if looking for something.

“Is ghost with you?” elderbug said.

“No” you said with a bit of sourness originating from his lack of worry for you.

Does anyone care?

Elderbug said not another word as myla lead you inside and plopped you down on the couch.

“Ghost found me but after a bit of talking i told him to leave so i could relax.” you said and elderbugs worries seemed to double despite you wanting the opposite.

“This is no good, he should have gotten here by now!” elderbug said with tension in his voice.

“Let me sleep and if he isn't here when i wake i'll go out and search for him” you quickly countered and this lowered mylas worry but not elderbugs.

“But- ah nevermind, i'll go back outside and see if he comes back” elderbug said as he opened the door and left.

Myla went outside with elderbug leaving you a chance to sleep and before you could even close your eyes, the void of sleep hit you.

\----------

You woke with sores all over your body but you ignored this as you got up and went outside to see if ghost was here. When the door opened you saw myla and elderbug at the bench talking with each other and every now and then glancing at the well. You walked up to them and they both looked at you.

“Ghost has not come up the well for..um.. 10 hours now” elderbug said.

“This means I have to go into the well, yes?” you ask even though you know the answer.

“You said it not me” elderbug said

You wanted to go back to sleep and forget about it but you did say you would go find them so you started walking to the well.

“Please do try to come back safe, alright?” elderbug said before you went out of earshot.

“A-and with g-ghost!” myla yelled as regular talk couldn't be heard from how far away you were.

You got to the well and then slid down the rope to the bottom. When you hit the bottom you looked at your map and scanned it for places ghost could be. As your eyes went across the map you realized that finding ghost wouldn't be easy as he could be anywhere. You remembered back to when you had ghosts map as he had a few locations marked on there and they might be places of importance to him. 

After a while you remembered them clearly, he had the abyss marked, he had an area of to the left of the palace grounds marked, he had the blue lake marked, he had an area near the crystal peaks marked (myla you assume), and he had an area to the right of the lake of unn. You were closest to the area near lake of unn so you thought you would go there. You put the map away and started heading that direction.

\---------

You stopped and pulled out the map and saw were you were at. According to the map you were right on top of it, you looked around and saw nothing but a broken mask with a nail stuck in it. You looked at the mask and realized why this was marked.

It was a dead vessel.

He probably came here to mourn his death every now and then. You felt sadness gathering in the pit of your gut but ignored it and looked back at your map looking to see where to go next. You decided to go to the blue lake next so you started going to the city of tears so you could take the elevator up.

\------------

When you reached the blue lake you started to smell the all too familiar smell of the infection which startled you but didnt make you stop. You turned the corner and the lake was there to meet you and so was someone sitting at the shore. You looked closer and saw that it was ghost which made you happy for a second but the smell of the infection reminded you that something was wrong. You unsheathed your nail and started approaching ghost and with every step the infection got more potent, it even got to the point where you thought you could see the infection in the air. You stopped at a little more than a nails length away from ghost just in case he turned and attacked.

“Ghost?” you asked and got ready for an attack.

Ghost stood up and turned to look at you and when his face was exposed you saw the orange glowing in his eyes very brightly which was making your eyes hurt. He unsheathed his nail and charged at you and swung during it. but you were ready for this so you deflected it with ease. 

Ghost then disappeared with a blast of void and reappeared behind you and he swung but luckily you stepped forward at exactly the right time making the nail miss its target. You swung your nail and turned around at the same time to try and hit ghost but he simply dashed backwards to avoid it. He then tried to dash back at you and swing his nail to catch you off guard but he stumbled and missed his hit. 

You could have used this opening to hit him but instead used it to get ready for another attack which paid off shortly as he swung upwards but hit nothing besides your nail. Ghost backed up, ready for a counter attack but when none came, he charged at you and tried to spear you with his nail. you sidestepped him so he ran into a wall instead. 

Ghost took a while to get back up but when he did he put his nail in the defending position and started circling you. You tracked his movements and waited for an attack but none came. After what seemed like ten minutes ghost came at you with one strong blow which you blocked but he pure strength put into the hit made your nail come out of your hands and imbed itself into the ground a few feet away. 

Ghost went up to you and kicked you making you fall to the ground and he rose his nail in the same motion. Time seemed to slow as your mind thought of ways to get out of this situation but you found nothing. You saw the nail start to come down and you closed your eyes waiting for the nail to meet your skin. You waited, and waited, and waited. You heard a squelch and You opened your eyes to see what the noise was and why you weren't a pill bug on a stick. To your horror, you saw the nail that you thought you would die to in ghosts chest. 

You scrambled away as he pulled the nail out but only for him to stab himself again. The squelch, which sounded wetter now, echoed around the lake. Black blood streamed from the wound onto the floor as he pulled it out and then stabbed himself again. Ghost started slowly backing up towards the water as he repeated the motion again. Ghost pulled the nail out but his shaking hands dropped the black stained nail before he could repeat it again. Ghost kept backing up and when reached the edge of the shore he fell into the water. 

You got up and rushed over to the water but before you reached the shore ghost disappeared into the water. Black blood was spreading through the water, staining it from its usual blue. You felt the urge to jump into the water but you knew you wouldn't be able to save him. You watched the water hoping he would resurface. But the only thing that reached the surface were bubbles. You looked back at his nail which was covered with the blood of your friend. You went up and picked up the nail, it was only when you touched the nail is when you realized what had happened. The air from your lungs escaped you like someone punched you in the gut and you buckled over.

No.  
No. he isn't dead.

You looked at the water expecting ghost to be there but nothing but the stained water itself was there. You looked back at the nail which was now dripping blood on your hand and a thought of stabbing yourself like ghost did raced past your mind

I could jus-  
No.  
I have to carry on.  
He isn't dead.

You put the nail in your backpack and stood to leave but you heard something surface in the water. Your head snapped to the water so fast you could have broken your neck. Ghost’s mask was floating in the water and for a split second you thought you saw the rest of his body but a double take showed that there was none. You went up to it and picked it up. Ghosts empty eyes pouring into you made your chest hurt and it hard to breath. If you looked close enough you thought you could still see the orange glow in his eyes. You ripped your eyes from the sight before you could think about it any more and you put in your bag along with the nail. You didn't need to open your map to know the way back so you set off towards dirtmouth.

\--------

The added weight of the nail and mask was a constant reminder of what was in your bag and what just happend but you didn't think about it, thinking if you did that it would have never happened and everything would return to normal. When you reached the well your mind pushed thoughts of ghosts mask and nail into your head but you got rid of these thoughts by busying yourself with climbing the chain. you reached the top and saw myla in the distance waving at you with elderbug next to her. You ignored their existence and started walking towards the house. When you got near both of the bugs had worried faces on.

“A-are you o-ok?” myla asked even though the answer was obvious.

“The underground has claimed another” elderbug muttered to himself as he pulled his fragile flower out.

You ignored them and kept walking towards the house and Myla followed while elderbug sat down on the bench. You opened the door and went into your room that ghost assigned you and locked the door so myla couldn't follow. She banged on the door and said something that you didn't hear. You pulled out ghosts mask and a choking amount of sadness welled in your throat. Tears rushed down your face as you realized ghosts fate.

I should have helped.  
Its my fault.  
I should have never went down.  
I shouldnt of waited.  
Its my fault.  
I killed him.  
I killed him.  
I killed him.  
I killed him.  
I killed him.  
\-----Ghost’s POV-----  
You sat on the shore, enjoying the heat emanating from inside you. You heard footsteps behind you and you slowly moved your hand towards your nail.

“Ghost?” you heard from behind you.

You stood up and turned around and saw quirrel standing there with a nail in his hand. A loud whisper yelled KILL HIM in your ear. You looked at the nail in his hand and an image of him swinging the nail at you flashed in front of you. SWING FIRST BEFORE HE HURTS YOU you heard in your ear and without another thought you took out your nail and you charged at him. When you got close you swung your nail.

Quirrel simply lifted his nail to block the blow but you dashed through him to land a back hit. But when you appeared behind him and swung he stumbled forward out of the range of your nail. Doubts of quirrel wanting to hurt you floated into your mind. But quirrel himself disproved this by turning around and swinging at you. You dashed backwards to dodge it but dashed back forwards to try and hit him but you lost your footing and stumbled. TRY AGAIN.

As soon as you got a good grip on your nail you swung upwards but quirrel was already in a blocking position so he easily blocked it. MAKE HIM HIT YOU AND THEN COUNTER the whisper said so you backed up and readied to block and counter any attacks but none came. You charged forward but quirrel ran out of the way and you couldn't slow down before running into a wall. 

You recovered and started circling quirrel waiting for an attack but none came, making the doubts of quirrel wanting to hurt you rush back into your head. The radiance feeling your reluctance made your arms move forward hitting quirrel’s nail with such force that it flew out of his hands. You unwillingly kicked quirrel onto the ground and rose your nail but before the radiance killed him they gave control back to you. KILL HIM it commanded, and its voice was so influencing you almost obeyed. 

You stood there for a while unmoving and felt the radiance start to take control again so you quickly plunged the nail into yourself before quirrel was killed. Quirrel scrambled away as you did this. Pain spiked throughout your body and you heard a squelch sound out when the nail entered your body but you didn’t stop there, you took the now black stained slippery nail and repeated the movement again. Your weakened legs struggled to keep standing and you slowly started going backwards so you didn’t fall. The pain that coursed through your body almost made you drop the nail, but you pushed through the pain and did it again. 

Quirrel was frozen in a stand, totally overcome with shock and horror. You slowly pulled out the nail again and quickly pulled it back into yourself, but slower this time as you body was trying to stop all movement in a futile effort to survive. You pulled out the nail, which was completely soaked with your blood. You wanted to do the action again but with the help of your slippery blood and your weakening hands, you dropped it. You backed up and your legs gave out beneath you, making you fall into the water. 

The cold water soothed your body, though your pain still trumped all. The used to be warm sensation turned into a burning one as you sunk to the bottom of the lake. 

“What a pity”  
“I lost my most promising subject before i even had them for an hour”  
“But this isn’t unexpected”  
“I really didn’t expect you to kill your friend”  
“I'm not a monster”  
“All I wanted was you gone..”  
“And i got it”  
“Now I can freely control all of hallownest without any threats”  
“And that means all of dirtmouth as well”  
“I really only have you to thank”  
“So, thank you”  
“I hope you have a nice death”  
“Truly”  
“Though i wish you could see them struggle against my influence”  
“But even a god can’t twist reality”  
“Bye little ghost”

The burning sensation completely disappears, leaving you a dying mess. Though soon your lungs start burning like the infection was still there. You didn’t expect to last very long with that hole in your gut, and this relieved you in a way.

I don’t have to suffer much longer

Your vision started blurring and dimming. Your pain also dimmed with it. Slowly you slipped away from reality.  
\-----Myla’s POV-----  
“I-i hope ghost i-is ok” you said.

“Everyone does, he makes friends quite quickly” elderbug said back.  
“I don't know how he does it so quick”

You looked at the well and saw quirrel coming out of it.

“E-elderbug i-its quirrel!” you said in the millisecond you saw him.

Elderbug looked at the well and you waved at quirrel. He looked at you and in that second you saw something in his eyes. despite being far away you could clearly see that he was one second away from tears.

“Somethings wrong” elderbug said.

“Where is ghost?” you said as you realized no one was following quirrel.

“The worst has happened” elderbug said as he lowered his head.

“W-what do you mean?” you said as you looked at elderbug

You both stood there in silence until quirrel came near.

“A-are you o-ok?” you asked but he wasn't fazed by the question and he continued to the house.

“The underground has claimed another” elderbug muttered to himself as he pulled his fragile flower out.

You ran after quirrel into the house but you were stopped by quirrel slamming the door to his room behind him and locking it.

“Q-quirrel! C-come out h-here!” you yelled but got no response from it.

“I-i just w-want to help” you muttered to yourself.

You stood in front of his door for a while longer but when you concluded that quirrel wouldn't let you in so you walked back over to elderbug who was now sitting on the bench staring at a fragile flower.

“He's gone, isn't he?” elderbug said when you got close.

“D-don’t say t-that!”  
“B-but, I-i dont k-know” you admitted.  
“Quirrel l-locked himself i-in his r-room”

A smile spread across his face.

“Oh, how the gods are cruel” he said with a bit of a chuckle.  
“Just when I thought he would stay up here, he goes back down and dies”  
“And to think he was friends with almost everyone here” elderbug sighed.  
“Such a nice bug, he would sacrifice himself for someone else's life”  
“I bet that's what he did” 

Elderbug got up and wandered off so you went back into the house to see if quirrel was going to let you in. when you reached his room you saw that his door was open so you entered. The room had a bed right next to the door and it had a nightstand next to the bed as well, on the opposite side of the room it had a desk with open books on it, next to the desk was a bookshelf that was fully stocked with books. Most of the books that were there had “history” in the title 

You saw no quirrel in said room, but there was a nail that was almost completely stained by something black on his bed. You went up to the nail and picked it up. In the few places that there wasn’t black, the nail had a pale color and a perfect point that seemed to have been just sharpened with lines spiraling down it but stopping where the handle started, this type of handy work only could have been from a nailsmith and a very experienced one at that. You soon recognized it as ghosts nail but the substance on it was something you wondered about. You put the nail back down and exited the room. 

You walked out and saw elderbug standing there and the shock of it almost killed you on the spot from a heart attack.

“Im very sorry about the spook i gave you but i came to tell you something, actually two” elderbug said.  
“I just saw quirrel hop into the well”

“W-what!” you yelled and rushed to the window facing the well, which was in your room.

“Yes and he was holding… he was holding ghosts mask” elderbug said with a defeated sigh.  
“I'm making a grave right now” eldebug said with calm voice but inside you knew he was dying.

A numb feeling washed over your body as your heart sank in your chest and the air was caught in your lungs. 

No. 

You looked at him with a hurt stare that you could tell hurt him too. After elderbug had soaked in your stare he turned to leave.

“I'll leave you be” he walked out the door and left you with nothing.

Nothing.

You sat down on your bed and shot a look at your bag which was on the bed next to you. You opened the bag and the first thing you saw was the drawing you made of infected ghost staring back at you. You took a pencil out of the bag and crossed out ghost.

Another friend i'll never see again.  
What is that?  
Seven now?  
Oh, how the gods are cruel.

A tear dropped on the picture, smudging the drawing of ghost. You put the picture back in your bag before it was drowned in tears and put the bag on so you could leave. When you exited your room you closed the door to it and you noticed someone was in quirrels room. You went up to them and you realized that the bug was elderbug. elderbug was staring at the nail on the bed but he pried his gaze off the nail and focused it on you. 

“That's his blood” elderbug said sending you into a state of confusion.

“B-but its b-black and i-ive never seen a-anything bleed b-black” you pointed out.

“Weird as it is, ghost has came to me many times injured and this is what bled from the wounds” elderbug said.

“It's a-also on his own n-nail, that couldn't have h-happened unles-” you stopped mid sentence as you realized what that means.

Elderbug must have also not realized it as his eyes widened when you said this but he quickly recovered from the shock and returned to his state of calm.

“Ah, just as I expected” elderbug sighed.  
“As much as his kindness is a blessing it is also one of the worst curses” elderbug gave the nail one last glance and then walked out of the room.

You looked back at the nail and picked it up. You saw the nail in a new light as now you knew what the black was on it. The more you looked at the blood on the nail the more sadness you felt creep up your spine.

I need to get rid of the blood.

You rushed out quirrels room and ran to the kitchen to clean the nail. You turned the water on and put the nail under it but the blood wasn't phased so you tried rubbing it off under the water. It worked to an extent as some of it ran off the nail and disappeared into the drain but the rest didn't want to move. You turned the water temperature up to the point you feared if you put your hand under it your hand would melt. This worked really well as all the blood slipped off and went into the drain. You took the nail out of the sink and turned the water off. 

The nail now had its full beauty showing and it had a renewed shine on it. You were amazed by the pure perfection of the design on the nail. The lines that spiraled down the nail were carved with no mistakes and the material it was made of made the nail truly shine pale when exposed to the light. You put the nail in your bag but it didn't fit so half the nail was hanging out of the bag. The nail made the bag very heavy to the point you feared your back might break but you ignored your backs protests and sat on the couch.

Ghost used to sleep here.

Your mind was barraged with memories of you and ghost which you tried to suppress but failed to do. Tears started falling from your eyes and they showed no sign of stopping. After a while your tears stopped, and not because you were not sad anymore it was because your eyes just ran out of tears. You got up and opened the door to the outside and saw elderbug at the bench the is always at. you ran up to this so you could talk to him.

“A-any sign o-of quirrel?” you asked with a desperate tone.

“I dont think hes coming back myla.” elderbug said, his eyes not leaving the well.

“W-why wouldn't he?”  
“H-he h-has too!” you said trying to be calm but despite this the sentence came out as a yell.

Elderbug just sighed and kept watching the well. Anger began rising in your throat but you kept it at bay.

“W-well i-im going after h-him” you said and right after the last word left your mouth elderbug shot a look at you that had dozens of emotions in them.

“You must be joking!” he spat at you.

“I-i can't w-wait any longer” you replied and before he could protest you started running towards the well.

“No!” he yelled at you while you ran.  
“You will most certainly die!”

You ignored the comments and jumped down the well but as soon your feet left the ground you regretted it. You fell down the well and didn't land on your feet and instead on your chest and your carapace was cracked because of it. You got up with newfound sores on your body and also realized that you had no idea where quirrel was. You also had no knowledge of the underground besides where you mined and some of the hotsprings in the area. You looked back at the chain to leave but you stopped yourself as you remembered quirrel mentioning the blue lake.  
\--  
“Ah, why yes it is, whenever I get the chance I will go back down there”  
“A bug like me needs peace once in a while”  
\--  
The blue lake is one of the few places you knew, and this is only because your friends loved the peace of that place. You dug into the back of your brain to remember where it is and after a while you had an image of it clearly. The lake wasn't far from your mining spot you loved. You pulled out ghosts nail and started running that direction.

\--------------

The trip took long despite the short distance you had to travel to get here and this was because every time you encountered something that could be a threat instead of fighting it and moving on you took the time consuming task of sneaking past it, though you still ended fighting them anyway due to your feet sounding like jackhammers when they touch the floor. You rounded the corner to the lake and was met with said lake. 

The lake gave you memories of your friends, who were now long dead. But unlike ghosts memories these ones you embraced and made you smile. This smile and the memories that caused it both dissipated when you saw a nail embedded in the sand near the shore. You walked up to the nail and saw that it was quirrels, though his nail was bland and bare so it could be confused with most other nails.

You looked around to expecting to see quirrel somewhere but your wishes were shot down by the absence of the pill bug. 

He couldn't be far.  
He wouldn't leave his nail here like that.

You looked back at the nail and you realized that there was something in front of it. You looked down and saw a pale mask with a book the had journal written on it. The mask was with no doubt ghosts and with every second you looked at the mask your mind was clouded with more memories of ghost. You tugged your gaze away from the mask and on to the journal. 

You picked up the journal and saw that one of the pages in the middle of the book were bookmarked. You turned to the bookmarked page and were met with a detailed drawing of ghost slouched on a metal bench and despite his eyes being open he looked like he was sleeping. Ghost surroundings looked like the interiors of one of the city of tears buildings but there was a huge window in the background that outlooked all of the city and you had to admit, it was quite amazing. The page had a few wet spots and in the wet spots the drawing was blurred. It was very obvious that the wet spots were caused by tears and they were recent as they have not dried.

You put the journal down and looked around again. Besides the lakes blue water and the bare shore you saw nothing. You sighed in annoyance but were hopeful in finding quirrel as you knew he was nearby. You were about to leave when you heard something in the lake, you turned around hoping to see quirrel but to your disappointment it was just bubbles in the lake. You turned to the exit and started walking.

He's here somewhere.  
\-----Quirrel’s POV-----  
You sat there staring out at the blue water of the lake, unmoving. Your mind was slowly drifting through memories of ghost and instead of trying to push them away you let them flow across your mind. Your entire body heavy like someone replaced your blood with lead and your will to do anything besides sitting here was long gone. You looked down at your journal and opened it to page 165 and you saw the drawing of ghost at the city of tears staring back at you. You felt tears form on your eyes but made no move to wipe them away. They freely dropped on the page and smudged your picture of ghost. You slowly closed the journal and put it next to your nail that was imbedded in the shore.

You looked at ghosts mask which was laying on the shore nearby and you picked it up. The mask was cold to the touch like if it was made of void. You looked into the eyes of the mask and even when nothing was there you swear you could still see the orange glow of the old light reminding you why you didn't have ghost sitting next to you. You put the mask next to your nail and looked back at the water which was still a bit darker than it usual blue from his blood.

Or was that your imagination?  
You didn't know

You put your arm in the water and the coolness soothed your body and mind alike. You got up and walked into the lake until you were knee deep in the water. The water seemed like it was calling for you and the soothing coolness of the lake only made this call stronger. You kept walking forward and the cool feeling crept up your body with every step. when you were neck deep you heard someone coming but ignored it and kept walking. The water soon submerged your head and you were forced to hold your breath. You kept walking forward and soon your lungs reminded you that you needed air, it was subtle but with every second the more your lungs protested yet you walked forward. 

You continued like this till your lungs started burning, it burned so bad your legs gave out beneath you and you collapsed on the ground. Your lungs finally convinced you to take a breath but instead of oxygen your lungs were filled with water and the burn doubled in intensity. Your breaths became more desperate but weaker. Your vision began to dim and your lungs stopped trying to get air that wasn't there. You saw a dark horned figure with glowing white eyes come into view and stare at you. The horns... The empty eyes.. 

Its ghost

Ghost came up to you and tried lifting you up but he wasn’t strong enough so he resorted to rolling you to shore but every now and then his hands would slip and you would slide back down to the bottom. After you slid down for the 3rd time ghost stopped trying to roll you and tried carrying you again. You realized you shouldn't have done this and you tried moving your limbs to help ghosts efforts but you got no response. You doubled your effort and got a response from one arm but the others still didn't budge. 

You moved your arm to try and hold yourself up but your arm wasn't strong enough. You realized it was futile to even try and held out your arm to touch ghost and when you touched him ghost stopped moving and stared at you. You gave up trying to move and soaked in the feeling of him being there. The last thing you saw was ghost staring at you with black liquid coming from his eyes.

Are those… tears?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m thinking about making a continuation of this story.
> 
> What do you guys think?


End file.
